House Gop Rips White House For Effort In Colombia Drug War

Rise Seen In Production Of Heroin And Cocaine

August 07, 1999|By Tamara Lytle, Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Friday accused the Clinton administration of failing to take effective action to help the Colombian government against Marxist guerrillas who are aiding drug traffickers responsible for three-quarters of the heroin flowing into the U.S.

Drug czar Barry McCaffrey conceded that the Colombian narcotics troubles have worsened and said he probably will ask Congress this fall for as much as $600 million in emergency funds to aid Colombia's anti-drug efforts.

Republicans on the House Government Reform subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources hammered at administration officials Friday. The clearest example of "negligence," they said, is that only two of the 40 helicopters paid for by Congress have been delivered to drug fighters in Colombia.

"You promised 40 helicopters and they're not down there," Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), chairman of the Government Reform Committee, complained to McCaffrey. "We now have a situation that's virtually out of control. Now all of a sudden with bravado you're saying we're going to really sock it to them."

McCaffrey said Colombian cocaine production likely will grow dramatically this year. In recent years, Colombian cartels also have branched into heroin manufacturing.

"The deaths and overdoses from Colombian heroin continue on our streets and communities unabated that could have, and should have, been eradicated at the source in the high Andes years ago," said Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee.

Republicans said that for years they have warned of the increasing Colombian drug menace, a topic of particular interest to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who visited the nation to inspect the problem. Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) wrote President Clinton this week calling for further efforts because they believe democracy is at risk in Colombia.

Democrats questioned whether more dollars for Colombia's military is the answer to the U.S. drug scourge. "Is it the first in a series of blank checks in a war where that has no . . . end game?" asked Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). Money spent reducing demand through treatment and prevention is 23 times more effective than eradication, she said.

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) agreed on the need to increase drug treatment funding. He noted that the Colombian government has ceded a large part of the nation's land to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist guerrilla group known as FARC by its Spanish initials, that is in league with drug producers.

"Additional military spending will only exacerbate the chaos in Colombia. Given the dismal results we have seen for our money so far, I'm not sure more money is the answer," he said.

Assistant Secretary of State Randy Beers said the U.S. seized 30 metric tons of Colombian cocaine last year and sprayed thousands of acres of coca and opium crops to eradicate them.

McCaffrey noted that unemployment is rampant in Colombia, which has led many people to turn to drug traffickers and guerrillas for jobs. FARC controls much of southern Colombia, making eradication efforts there difficult, he said.

McCaffrey said the problems in Colombia are worsening and "what we've done in the past may not be adequate." He added that top administration officials understand the growing problem.

McCaffrey and Beers said the slow pace of shipping helicopters to Colombia was due to several factors, including production time and the need for the Colombian National Police to have the necessary training.